Lyon et le programme EAP

Bonjour à tous!

I've had a few very hectic past couple of days, and I have finally just had a chance to sit down and reflect on my week thus far. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I arrived in Lyon on Tuesday by train. Monday morning, my parents and I went to visit the house where I will be living during my stay here. To clarify, I'm not doing a "homestay", which is the type of housing in which you eat meals with a French family. Instead, I chose to look for my own housing and cook my own food. I sent out some emails to people EAP recommended, and I found an ideal situation living in a single room in a woman's house. Madame Aulen's house might be a little farther out from the main city center, but it's easily accessible by metro and tram, and it will be a nice, quiet change from the dorms at UCLA and from the temporary housing I am living in right now in Lyon.

I took a gamble in choosing to live at this house, since I had not seen pictures of the room or the neighborhood. I couldn't find out much about the place except for what I could glean off of (inaccurate) Google Maps. So I really am lucky that the house is enormous, well-kept, and that my room is pretty spacious for a single. Did I mention it's a single? I've been living in doubles for the past two years of college, so I'm pretty excited to have my own room.

The house in which I will be living this semester

We met Madame Aulen, who was very patient with my French. Leaving her with two of my suitcases (I brought the third one to the temporary EAP housing), we went to explore la Ville de Lyon. 

Our objective:Find les Halles de Lyon, one of the finest gastronomic gatherings in France, an inside market with gourmet restaurants and upscale delis and boulangeries. 

Our plan of attack: Take the metro to Gare Part-Dieu and fine les Halles using a map.
I'm not sure where this plan went wrong. All I know is that we ended up circling the block of the Tower housing the Radisson hotel- for an hour. Finally, after asking 3 different people for directions, using directionally-challenged me as a sketchy translation guide, we discovered that les Halles was on the next block over. Exhausted and famished, we found the promised land.

We were well rewarded for our determination, with a delicious North African lunch. I had couscous and tagine chicken.

After lunch, we headed to the Textile and Decorative Arts Museums, to see some cool exhibits on the history of Textiles and clothing. Lyon used to be the silk capital of the world, weaving textiles from silk brought all the way from China on the Silk Road. It was pretty cool to see the extraordinarily intricate designs that weavers of different nations and cultures made with looms without using electricity. There was also a cool exhibit on the Textile Portrait and how weaving color textiles based on black and white photographs actually served as a form of color photography before color photography existed.

That night, we dined at an excellent Lyonnais restaurant , Chez M'man. What's great in France is that nearly all of the restaurants have the option of "the menu," which is a fixed price meal. (Weirdly enough, even though in American restaurants we use the French term "prix fixe", they do not call it that). My favorite part of the meal was definitely the dessert. I had a Praline Tart, which is a famous Lyonnais dessert. It's sweet, nutty, and extremely delicious.

Yesterday, before my parents dropped me off at the EAP Orientation, we walked around Lyon some more. We saw the University Lyon 2's main campus, where I may be having some of my classes this semester, Place Carnot, and Place Bellecour. While we were walking back to the hotel, a sudden rainstorm decided to besiege us. I had actually packed my umbrella in one of the suitcases I left with Madame Aulen, which was unfortunate. I don't move into her house until Saturday, so I have to cope until then.

My parents dropped me off at CISL, Centre Internationale de Séjour a Lyon, where the EAP Orientation is being held. I said goodbye to them, and began a new adventure. 

Swans along the Rhône River

Paris Day 2 and Train to Lyon

Yesterday I had a very long, exciting day exploring Paris with my parents. We left the hotel at noon and didn't come back until after 9 pm. We definitely hit some major highlights of the wonderful city that is Paris, but we barely scratched the surface. I can't wait to come back on weekends and during my 10 day stay in Paris after finals end. 

First we walked down to "La Tour Eiffel", just to see it up close. Since it was a Sunday, there were huge crowds surrounding it, so we didn't go up. I really do want to make it up to the top of the Eiffel Tower before I leave Paris. One of these days, I will brave the line and the many stairs. 

Next we bought our tickets for the Batobus, which is a really cool tour boat that goes along the Seine, taking you around Paris. It visits most of the major tourist spots along the river, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Louvre, and you can hop on and off whenever you want.  With a student ID, I got a day pass for €9, which was a pretty good deal. It's pretty convenient and it has the added bonus of giving you the experience of a boat ride along the Seine. Inside the boat is sweltering hot, but there are really great views from the crowded deck at the back. I would recommend it for one day, but after that you could probably just take the Metro and walk for much cheaper.

The Batobus

We headed down the Seine, which allowed us to see many of Paris's famous bridges. My favorite one was the Pont Alexandre III. You might recognize it as the bridge that was featured in Anastasia. Yep, it's the one where Rasputin (who in the film is depicted as an evil, creepy guy who makes a pact with the devil and has cute white bat as a sidekick) tries to kill Anastasia. Needless to say, I felt as if my childhood dreams had been fulfilled when I saw it (Sarcasm alert). The film certainly has parallels with my own life, or so I would like to think. Last week, when I said goodbye to my boyfriend, who will be coming to visit me in Paris in December, I felt like Anastasia's grandmother, the Dowager Empress, who, in the movie, tells Anastasia they will be "Together in Paris." And of course, I'm expecting to find out that I'm actually the long-lost daughter of royalty anytime now.

Pont Alexandre III

Our first stop was the Musée D'Orsay, which is known for its Impressionist collection. I was astonished by its beautiful main hallway. It's a converted train station and definitely the most unique art museum I have ever visited. I could have spent hours ambling through the one floor that housed most of its Impressionist works. I was overwhelmed by Monets, Renoirs, Cézannes, and much much more. It was really cool to see these works after I had taken a course on the Neuropsychology of Art last year, in which I learned about a lot of the mental health and vision problems that these artists had, which influenced their art. My favorite paintings, were of course, the Van Goghs. I was so excited to see Bedroom at Arles and Eglise d'Auvers. I did not spot a lurking alien dinosaur figure in the latter, sadly (Oh Doctor Who, why do you build up my hopes?).

The Musée D'Orsay

We viewed the highlights of the museum, which also included Rodin sculptures and Degas sculptures and paintings, many of which I recognized. However, we had so much more to see in Paris that day, so we left for the next stop on the Batobus, Notre Dame. I will definitely be coming back to Musée D'Orsay.

Notre Dame is on Ile de la Cité, which is an island in the middle of the Seine. It was definitely exciting to walk through the halls of this famous cathedral. It reminded me that I really need to read The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo, because right now I only know about the Disney version. 

Love Locks on a Bridge, with Notre Dame in the background

Notre Dame

Speaking of Victor Hugo, we found his house later, in the corner of Place des Vosges, which is the oldest planned square in Paris, located in the Marais district, which is just north of Ile de la Cité, across the river. That's my second spotting of a famous author's house. On Saturday I spotted the house where Voltaire was born. Hopefully I'll see a few more famous literary locations while I'm in Europe.

After Notre Dame, we explored Marais. We headed east to the Place de la Bastille, where the Bastille prison was once located. It was place where the French Revolution started, but now there's not much to see. Just a giant column which commemorates the July Revolution, which is not the same as the original French Revolution.

Our last stop in Marais was the famous street Rue des Rosiers, which is known for its Jewish stores, restaurants, and delis. I had Israeli food for dinner: hummus, tabouli, falafel, and eggplant, the first vegetarian meal I've been able to find in France.

My first vegetarian meal in France!

A Jewish bookstore on Rue des Rosiers

Today we took the train to Lyon, which was only a 2 hour ride. We're getting settled in to the city, which is a little quieter than Paris. So far the main difference I've seen between the two cities is that Paris's architecture is mostly from the 19th century. There definitely some 19th century apartment buildings here, but for the most part, the streets look more modern. The sidewalks have concrete, not cobblestone. There are still very ancient buildings scattered amongst the modernized urban landscape, however- mostly churches. I will get to see more of Lyon tomorrow, when I go to meet the woman whose house I will be staying in. 

Bienvenue en France!

Bonjour mes amis,

I'm very excited to start my blog, which I will be writing during my semester abroad in France. I will be spending the next four months in this beautiful country, primarily in Lyon, which is in the central-east of France. I'm really excited to live in Lyon, which is an ancient city with a rich history. I will probably discuss it more in later posts, but here are a few interesting facts about the city:

1. It was the capital of Gaul, during the time of Roman rule

2. Lyon and its suburbs make up the second largest urban area in France, after Paris. I thought this was appropriate since I usually study in the second largest urban area in the United States- Los Angeles. 

3. The name "Lyon" is pronounced the same as the word "lion" in French. That's why there are a lot of lion statues all around the city. It's kind of like their unofficial mascot. However, the city's name actually comes from its Latin name, Lugdunum, which means "fort of Lugh". Lugh is the Celtic God of light, who was probably worshiped by the city's original Celtic inhabitants.

That's enough about Lyon for now. I will have a lot more things to say about it once I actually arrive. Right now I am in Paris. I flew in to Charles de Gaulle airport yesterday, and I am currently staying with my parents for a few days at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe, which, you guessed it, is only a few blocks away from the Arc de Triomphe.

Today, despite the fact that I woke up at 1 p.m., I managed to see many of the main tourists sights in Paris, and my parents and I explored several different "arrondissements", which are equivalent to neighborhoods. Here is a map my mom found, which has succinct descriptions of each arrondissement: http://www.parisnet.com/parismap.html

We started out in the 8e arrondissement, at a cute little park nearby, Park Monceau. By little, I mean in comparison with the Champs-Elysées and the Jardin de Tuileries, which are enormous. Monceau was definitely a park for locals. It had large lawns, a pond with crumbling columns around it, and mini-pyramid, and the most adorable carousel I have ever seen. That's one thing I never knew about Paris- they have carousels all over the place, even on random street corners. It must be a great place to grow up. This carousel, instead of horses, had different vehicles such as a plane, a truck, and a submarine. It's based on different storybooks: the plane was named "le Petit Prince", the submarine was clearly from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and the top of the carousel was adorned by pictures of scenes from these books. I wish I could have stayed longer to figure out what each vehicle was from. I definitely want to go back there.

The literary-themed carousel at Park Monceau

From the park, we trekked up to Basilique Sacré-Coeur, which was really crowded. There was some Christian festival going on there, called Anuncio. It was too busy for us to go inside, which was a shame.

Sacré-Coeur

Next we headed over to the Jardin des Tuileries. It's huge! It was really windy, so the sand there was blowing into our faces. It already feels like autumn here. The leaves are already falling from the trees, littering the streets with their crunchy spines. 

We walked all the way to the Louvre and peeked at its exterior. I was astonished by its size, but we didn't go in to it today. I've heard you can spend days in there and not see everything. I know I will be coming back to Paris during my stay in France, so I know I will get a chance at some point to see its highlights. 

We crossed the Seine and had dinner at a café nearby. I had a Croque Monsieur, which was delicious. (For those of you who don't know I have put on hold my pescetarianism while I'm living in France. Firstly, because it's nearly impossible to find anything on the menus here that is vegetarian and I don't really like cooked fish. Secondly, because I don't want to miss out on any cultural experience while I'm here, and I know a huge part of French culture is its gastronomy.) 

I've been speaking in French to order food, alongside my parents who only speak English. I've been dissappointed so far in the limited opportunities I've had to speak French, mostly because everyone in Paris speaks English and because I haven't struck up a conversation with any random French people yet. I hope that will change once I get to Lyon and my study abroad program officially starts. 

It was getting late, and we were tired, so we started heading back to the hotel. We crossed the Seine again, this time over Place Solferino, which is a cool pedestrian bridge with two levels. On the bridge hung many love-locks. I knew about the love-locks at Pont de l'Archevêché, but I didn't know that people put them on other bridges too. Love-locks are locks that couples lock onto bridges, to symbolize their love. I saw some locks that had friends and whole families listed on them too, so they are not just for couples. It was really cool to see them in person. I intend to add one of my own to a bridge next December. It was too bad my parents didn't have a lock handy, because today is their 22nd anniversary! 

Place Solferino

Love locks on the bridge of Place Solferino

After the bridge, we headed to Place de la Concorde and walked up the Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe. I had no idea it was so gigantic! And the carvings on it are so ornate! I was definitely expecting it to be the size of the arc in Washington Square in New York, so it really astonished me. 

Me in front of the Lyon Statue at Place de la Concorde. There are eight different statues representing eight French cities.

L'Arc de Triomphe

During our walk, we passed through at least 7 different arrondissements, including Montmartre, Pigalle, and Saint-Germain. We glimpsed the Eiffel Tower from a distance- we're probably going to see it up close tomorrow. Paris is really a lovely city. I adore all of its 19th C. architecture with its beautiful doors and little balconies. I almost wish I were staying here for 4 months, because there is so much to see. But I'm excited to get off of the tourist track and live in a less commercialized city. I can't wait to see the rest of Paris and then hop on a train to Lyon!